ISB received 50 business plans from five countries which included India, China, Taiwan, France, and Hong Kong. The seventy Asia finalists were drawn from twelve B-Schools across these countries. ISB, Hyderabad; NMIMS, Mumbai; IIM Indore; SIESCOMS, Mumbai; BITS, Pilani; were amongst the schools that are participating from India. Twelve teams will be participating in the Global Finals to be conducted in Berkeley at the Haas School of Business in April 2009. The winning three teams at the global final will be awarded USD 25,000 to start the venture.

Pioneer Healthcare, the business plan presented by the Indian School of Business team proposes building a network of hospitals in a hub and spoke model, combining best medical facilities and knowledge, augmenting each other to provide effective primary healthcare in rural areas. This high-volume low-cost model emphasises maximum resource utilization. The total initial investment for the project is estimated to be USD 3.8 million with a return of investment of 36.11 percent over five years. The other winning team was from SP Jain Mumbai. Their business plan – Ummeed aims to address hygiene and reproductive health issues of low-income rural women by providing bio-degradable sanitary napkins that are economical. The team selected for Best Social Impact Assessment was the ISB team a ArtIsAn Art. It proposes to promote handicrafts through providing design support and market access to rural artisans thus ensuring higher income.